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Archive: January 2010

There’s a stunning, old shul (synagogue) in Tikocyn, Poland. It’s made of stone so it remains standing… the wooden synagogues of Polish yesteryear are no longer. The shul currently serves as a museum; the prayers painted upon its walls have been redone by Poles who traced the faded, unfamiliar letters (and made some errors in Continue Reading »

I had intended to post daily from Poland, but the schedule left me exhausted; I didn’t sleep for more than five hours at any time… late nights and early mornings (particularly for those who woke up to daven Shacharit)… trekking through the bone chilling cold and snow of Poland… travelling back and forth by bus Continue Reading »

R. Levi Cooper told us that we should avoid experiencing our tiyul to Poland through our camera lenses. He told us that some people use their cameras as defense mechanisms. When the tiyul participants volunteered to take responsibilities upon ourselves so that things might run as smoothly as possible, I volunteered to be one of the Continue Reading »

Several weeks ago, I decided that it was high time for me to visit the Tayelet in J’lem, and I woke myself up at an early hour to daven (pray) the shacharit (morning) service with my tefilin (phylacteries) at sunrise, facing the Old City of J’lem. It was a chilly morning, and I felt it. Continue Reading »

R. Levi Cooper, my Chassidut (Chassidism) teacher, has consistently inspired me with his wisdom. I’ve heard some of my own thoughts echoed back to me in Levi’s particularly articulate and reasoned way, and other insights of his have seeded entirely new contemplations in my mind. In discussing the history of the Chassidut, RLC taught us Continue Reading »

Our Chanukah break is coming up soon, and I’ve been considering what sites in Israel I’d like to visit in my precious free time. Traveling to Rosh HaNikra and Haifa during our last holiday break whetted my appetite for adventuring throughout Israel. Perhaps I’ll take a bus up to Tzfat (I love its gentle atmosphere), Continue Reading »

Some weeks ago, I bought myself a pair of house slippers because my roommate & I had agreed not to wear shoes inside our apartment. My decision was mostly based upon my preference for wearing shoes while davening (praying) at home (traditional Jewish law requires footwear during prayer), but I also thought it would be Continue Reading »

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